


Louisiana Slick

by AnnieMallistic



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Anal Sex, Finn is clued up about shit, M/M, Masturbation in Shower, Minor appearances from Titus Elias and a couple others, Seth takes too many showers on this day and I promise he's not happy about it, Teensy bit of hurt/comfort just because, This fic is pretty dumb and definitely went off the rails but we stickin with it lads, aka Annie uses Seth and Finn to work through her own bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 04:04:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15452943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieMallistic/pseuds/AnnieMallistic
Summary: I think we should do giftsSeth frowned. Pride gifts? Was that a thing? Was that a thing that sort of maybe but not boyfriends were supposed to do in June? Seth was the worst sort of maybe but not boyfriend in the world.aka the one where the baby oil was meant for Seth





	Louisiana Slick

**Author's Note:**

> We're playing a little fast and loose with the timeline because it fit better for it to have been posted on 1st June during the show

** June 1st 2018 **

 

Seth's phone pinged as he was handing his luggage to the cab driver and trying to duck his head so as not to be recognised by people in the vicinity. 

**It's June**

His mouth twitched into a smile even as his eyebrows drew together. What sort of a 'welcome to Louisiana, can't wait for the hotel tonight' sort of text was that supposed to be?

****

****

**congratulations, you can finally read the american calendar**

"You one of the wrestling stars?"

"Huh? What?"

The driver's voice piping up from the front seat startled Seth into looking up from his phone.

"Yeah, I don't follow it, but I've seen the ads around town. Figure there aren't many reasons teenage girls would be trying to sneak a photo of the jacked up dude getting into my cab."

Seth laughed weakly. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

His phone pinged again.

**Very funny**

Seth confirmed his destination with the driver and thankfully that seemed to be the end of their conversation. He was simultaneously trying to work out what direction these messages were going in and trying to shave off his travel weariness. Straight from the airport to crossfit was a rough ride, but he had no other time today to fit it in.

**June is pride month**

Oh. Seth blinked at the screen, extremely unsure how he was supposed to respond.

He'd had no idea, but then it's not like he'd ever celebrated it. He would have figured it out in a couple days after he noticed that social media was plastered in rainbow emojis, but he felt kind of shitty now. Finn would see straight through him if he tried to make out that he'd known all along, though. 

**oh. cool**

What a lame ass reply. He rubbed a hand over his face as he stared out the window. He knew how important LGBT rep was to Finn; he hoped he wouldn't be bummed out that Seth had been entirely clueless.

**I think we should do gifts**

Seth frowned. Pride gifts? Was that a thing? Was that a thing that sort of maybe but not boyfriends were supposed to do in June? Seth was the worst sort of maybe but not boyfriend in the world.

**thats not a thing. is that a thing?**

**We should make it a thing**

Okay, so at least he hadn't missed out on a well known pride institution or anything. This was just Finn being Finn.

Before he could reply again the cab was pulling up at his gym of choice so he shoved the phone in his back pocket and paid, taking a token photo with the driver even though he'd blatantly stated he didn't know who Seth was. 

In fact, he got way more of a kick than he should have done out of telling the dude his ring name was Triple H. Seth wished he could be a fly on the wall when he tried to use the photo for bragging rights. You can take the babyface out of the heel.

He was still chuckling to himself when his phone started buzzing, Finn clearly having grown impatient waiting for Seth to text back. He didn't waste a second once Seth's thumb had connected the call.

"I'm serious, let's do gifts."

"Finn for god's sake, my birthday was literally 3 days ago, haven't you had enough of giving me presents?"

"I pretty much never get tired of getting you presents."

It was dumb and cheesy. And dumb. But Seth got happy butterflies anyway.

"Well you could have given me a bit more notice, I could have picked you up something sweet from the airport."

"I only just thought of it, to tell you the truth. But I think we should. You wanna?"

God fucking damn it, as if he was going to say no to the excitable bounce in that Irish lilt.

Seth sighed. "So do we have a budget, or what?"

"Yeah." Seth swore blind he could hear Finn's grin. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Seth frowned, elbowing the gym door open as he pulled his case through it. "Nothing as in no limit?"

"Nothing as in nothing. Free gifts only."

"Fuck,"Seth breathed, long-suffering. Nothing was ever simple with this one. God only knows what sort of gift Seth could come up with that didn't cost any money but also wasn't lame as hell. But he knew better than to voice these thoughts and to just play along. He'd have to improvise. "Okay."

"Too sweet," Finn laughed, mostly at himself. "When do you want me to pick you up, couple hours?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Send me the address."

"Will do."

"Can't wait to see you."

Finn seemed to have this habit of abruptly ending the call after saying something that made Seth weak at the knees. He was only 10% sure Finn knew he was doing it.

It had only been 2 days. But fuck if Seth couldn't wait either.

He took a deep breath to wipe the stupid grin off his own face and tried to get into his work out headspace.

 

***

 

Finn had pulled into the parking lot a full 20 minutes after the pre-arranged time but Seth still wasn't out.

He'd learned quickly to never turn up on time, lest he sit in the car long enough to have comfortably taken a nap. Seth was a lithe cat in the ring but practically a fucking sloth after a work out.

It was almost unbearably cute, the way he dragged his feet on the way to the car, grey shirt mottled with wet where freshly soaked hair dripped onto his shoulders.

Finn hopped out to put Seth's case in the trunk while he collapsed into the passenger seat. When Finn got back in Seth's cheek was laid against the headrest, smiling sleepily at him. Finn's chest clenched under the adoring gaze and immediately he smiled back.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Finn gave a quick glance out of the windscreen just to check no one was watching when he darted forward to claim his hello kiss. They'd usually wait until they were somewhere more secluded but today he just couldn't curb his impatience.

Seth called him out on it straight away - "Someone's eager" - before leaning back in himself to claim a longer one.

Finn laughed into his mouth at the first touch of tongue and separated them with a hand on Seth's chest.

"And someone's greedy," he chuckled, patting Seth's cheek twice before starting up the car. "Later," he promised. 

As Finn pulled out of the lot he was overly aware that Seth had never moved, still angling his body towards Finn as he drove, eyes never leaving his face. The attention made something stir contentedly in the pit of Finn's stomach and he spoke simply to distract himself from it.

"Good work out? Flight okay?" 

"S'okay," Seth replied to both. "Could do with a nap."

Finn flicked his eyes briefly to the clock on the dash before shaking his head. "You'll have to make do with food."

"Coffee?" Seth asked hopefully.

A quick turn of his head brought Finn face to face with one of Seth's rare toothy grins and he cursed under his breath. "Starbucks drive thru or you can wait until catering."

He didn't have to look to know that Seth's silence was a happy one rather than a sulky one. Finn wondered when he became such an expert on Seth Rollins' silences.

Seth got more talkative after an espresso and half a latte, laughing as he told Finn about the photo with the cab driver.

Finn's answering admonition was empty when it came out as a chuckle. "That was mean."

"Yeah well, he shouldn't have asked for a picture if he didn't know me."

He took a bite of the protein bar Seth bumped against his lips. Coconut.

"So. This gift situation," Seth said hesitantly.

Finn grinned as he chewed. He'd be lying to himself if he didn't say half the reason he came up with this idea was because he knew Seth would get unnecessarily flustered over it.

"Yes?" he asked, overly innocent in tone.

"You're not expecting me to get, like... crafty, are you?"

"I thought The Architect was always crafty."

Finn took one hand off the wheel as he tried to defend himself from the smack upside the head that came from Seth's direction.

"You know what I mean, asshole. You're not expecting like a hand-drawn card or anything, right? Because if you are I might as well save you the disappointment now."

Finn pulled into the parking lot of the Coliseum, flashing his lanyard to security before pulling into a space.

"All I'm expecting is a surprise, Seth. I don't even know what I'm giving _you_ yet."

"Oh. That makes me feel better, actually."

Finn laughed, clapping Seth lightly on the knee. "Good."

They got out of the car. Finn moved to the trunk so Seth could finish his coffee on the way into the building. He lifted out the case first, settling the holdall on top, having to heft a little more than usual due to the weight of the title belt he knew was inside. 

Seth locked up and pocketed the keys. It was his turn to drive to the hotel tonight, after all. 

"It's not a trap, babe," Finn added. He relished the way Seth's mouth twitched at the term of endearment. "I just thought it'd be cute."

"Okay. I mean yeah, it will be. Just have to think of something first."

Yeah, Finn thought. Same. 

 

***

 

Seth was already halfway through his plateful when Finn came back from dropping Seth's bags off in the locker room.

Finn quirked an eyebrow at him. "Hungry?"

Seth scooped up another forkful of mashed potatoes before he answered. "Didn't realise the time. I forgot to say, I've got VIP today. Rome asked me yesterday."

Finn jerked his chin up in acknowledgement. He'd upped his VIP fan experiences now that he was IC champ. Finn did his fair share too, but as the only male singles champion who actually chose to grace their brand with his presence Seth felt a certain obligation to deliver. He shook that thought away quickly before he got too hung up on the idea of Lesnar sitting pretty at home with Finn's belt.

He continued to eat, sneaking glances at Finn scrolling through his phone, the silence comfortable. 

After a few minutes Finn said "hold on" and held his phone up in selfie position, slipping easily into a grin as he started to speak at the screen.

"Hey, Sonn, just wanted to send you a quick message to say happy pride month. Hope everything's good in blue brand land. See you soon."

When he lowered the phone he flicked a look up at Seth, smile long gone. "Sorry."

Seth shook his head slowly at his plate.

Although Seth had no problem with Sonya Deville personally he couldn't deny that every single one of their limited interactions had been dappled with an undeniable awkwardness. He'd never admit it out loud but he was sort of relieved when Sonya and Mandy made the jump to Smackdown just to limit the frequency of said instances. When you constantly hung out with one of the friendliest - and in turn well-liked - guys on the roster avoiding people didn't work too well. 

"No, it's- you don't have to apologise."

"No, I know, but it makes you feel weird."

Finn nudged Seth's foot with his own underneath the table; a substitute for the touch of the hand he'd have gone for if they hadn't been sitting wide open in catering.

"Sonya's a grown woman, she's free to make her own choices." It took a lot for Seth not to say mistakes. "Honestly, it just reminds me of who _I_ was back then."

Quick as a beat Finn shook his head. "You're different now. You've grown up a heck of a lot in the last 3 years."

Seth laid down his fork, searching for the honesty in Finn's eyes. Of course, he didn't have to look too hard.

"Why do you always see the best in me?"

Finn looked down to his lap, like he was smirking at a private joke. When he raised his head again the smile was different, softer. "Just lucky I guess."

The answering smile that crept its way onto Seth's face was tender and goofy. Someone was lucky alright. He just didn't think it was Finn.

Finn settled his chin in his hand and gave Seth's foot another nudge as he did so. "Guess you've gotta go."

Seth glanced at the time on his phone and let out a small sigh. "Yeah."

Finn stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout before laughing. "Okay. You head off, I'll take your plate back."

Seth just about swallowed back the need to instruct Finn to get something for himself. _**Curb your mothering, Rollins**_ , he thought. "When are you on?"

"First."

"Ah, starting off on a good note."

"Save the best 'til last, you mean."

Finn was smiling as he said it, looking up at Seth through bright hooded eyes, so he held back the urge to turn this into a lighthearted argument.

They made plans to meet in gorilla and Seth left to fulfill his VIP duties, stopping by the locker room - where Finn had laid their things in adjacent spots - to pick up the IC title first. 

 

Seth genuinely enjoyed VIP for the most part, especially when there were kids. He could only imagine what it would have been like as a kid to meet one of his heroes, so he always tried his hardest to make it unforgettable. 

Most of his own starstruck moments had occurred once he was in the business, and he also liked to make that clear whenever a fan expressed a wish to follow his career path. Maybe it they kept at it one day he'd be standing opposite them in the squared circle.

It was also humbling when people expressed not only a wish to get into the business but to get there via his own wrestling school. It was everything he could have hoped for when he and Marek made the decision to give back to the community that had always been so good to him. 

This VIP passed in similar fashion, quick chats and professional fan photos, but Seth would be lying if he said his head was fully in the game this time. He got about 5 minutes in before he remembered he needed to think of a gift for Finn. Not only that, but he'd be receiving one, he thought with a rush of excitement.

When the hell was he supposed to find a gift before the end of the night? Finn had all this extra time with Seth out of the way and Seth had, what, the 15 minute duration of Finn's match and that was it? Oh well he supposed, pride was the entire month, right? Surely he doesn't need to have something sorted for the very first day on only a few hours notice.

He was still puzzling over it when he made his way back to the locker room, a little later than planned. After storing the title safely away again Seth noticed Finn's clothes piled neatly beside his duffel bag, meaning Finn was probably already waiting for him.

Just for a second, and just because he could in the otherwise empty locker room, he trailed a finger over the t-shirt sitting on top, already looking forward to the next time he'd see these clothes in a pile, tangled with his own on the hotel floor.

He opted to change into his own gear after Finn's match and headed straight for gorilla.

Sure enough there he was, along with Jinder and Sunil, whom Seth greeted before turning his attention to the Irishman shrugging into his leather jacket. 

Finn's smile was blinding and it knocked the breath from Seth for a second like it usually did. "Hey, champ."

"Alright?"

Finn nodded, standing back as Jinder's music hit, allowing them both to go through the curtain. Seth moved closer as if he was getting out of the way as well, but Finn merely gazed up at him with a knowing look before shifting on his feet just enough that their hands at their sides brushed for a second.

"I wish you were on next so we could get out of here," Finn said, eyes firmly on Seth's. Their voices were blanketed by the din, and it was sort of thrilling not to have to whisper whilst surrounded by colleagues and crew members. 

Seth's skin prickled pleasantly, suddenly overly aware that he was fully clothed while Finn stood before him in trunks looking like the most beautiful human he'd ever seen in real life. 

Finn noticed the minute change of expression and his eyebrows drew together slightly when he asked "what?"

"I just-" They both paused as someone called out Finn's 30 second cue. "I just realised I've never really looked at you like this. It's different when we're both in our ring gear." He rubbed the hem of Finn's jacket between his thumb and forefinger. His voice lowered in pitch, unexpected desire choking him up. "How did I get in the ring with you for 3 months straight and manage to keep my hands off you?"

Finn stepped away, walking backwards towards the curtain. Seth didn't miss the way Finn was leaning back slightly, hips out, giving Seth permission to keep looking at him the same way.

Everything in Seth screamed to touch. He wanted to run his fingertips over each ridge of ab muscle, to touch his lips behind Finn's ear, to wrap himself up in those milky thighs. 

His relationship with Finn had started firmly outside of the ring so it was almost a revelation to look at him the way the fans saw him every week, pretty and toned for sure, but also oozing charisma and strength. It took his breath away. 

Seth reiterated his own thought from earlier; Finn definitely wasn't the lucky one in this scenario.

The clash of Finn's music hit and he placed one hand on the curtain, shouting to Seth over the noise before he stepped through. "I made sure you didn't."

It stirred something low in Seth's belly as the grey cloth fell shut behind him and he cursed that it would be another 3 hours minimum before the two of them were safely sequestered behind the door of a hotel room. 

As it was, he was prepared to enjoy watching Finn perform on the screen, especially as he knew he was getting the win over Jinder, which always made his bitter ass happy.

He watched by himself for about 5 minutes, each man trading blows as devastating as if they'd been on tv and not just a house show. Finn gave his all in every single performance and it always made Seth's chest swell with pride. Soon after, the competitors for the next match turned up and Seth had someone to talk to while keeping an eye on the screen.

Seth idly checked his phone when it buzzed in his pocket.

**_need you to call me when you can bud. major problems at the house_ **

"Fuck."

"Problem, Seth?" asked Titus.

Seth briefly explained his need to call Marek and asked Titus to pass the message on to Finn.

He left gorilla and headed for a quieter area to make the call. When he'd decided to open a wrestling school he wasn't expecting to also become a landlord. His idea to also provide a frat house type situation for his students led to him having to deal with things like faulty electrics and authorising payments for new guttering and countless other things he knew next to nothing about.

God only knows what had happened this time, but it had to be fairly important for Marek to have passed it on to Seth directly instead of his mom.

He'd catch up with Finn before his own match with Elias.

 

***

 

Finn stepped triumphantly through the curtain panting a little, half from the exertion of the match and half from his haste to get back up the ramp to continue his conversation with Seth.

He never felt so good about his body as when Seth's wide eyes were drinking him in and it had been something else entirely for it to happen whilst in his ring attire. The desire on Seth's face as Finn had teased him before making his way down to the ring had been a heady thing and truth be told he wasn't quite done teasing yet.

His eyes darted around gorilla for a split second before realising Seth wasn't there and was almost embarrassed at how much his stomach sank. 

"Yo Finn, got a message from Seth."

"Oh yeah?" he asked Titus hopefully.

"He had to make a call. Problem with his student house or something. Wanted me to let you know."

"Ah, thanks man." He clapped Titus on the shoulder and immediately laughed and grimaced simultaneously, wiping his hand off on the back of his thigh. "Got enough oil there?"

Titus laughed, gesturing to the bottle of baby oil on the table. "You can never have too much. Gotta get that OG Hogan look, brother!" 

Finn noted the way his torso glistened, and glanced at the bottle, evil smirk stretching his lips into his cheeks. "Can I borrow this?"

Titus laughed, commenting that the idea was generally to apply oil _before_ a match, but of course Finn could use it. 

Snagging the bottle, already laughing about what he was about to do, he popped into the corridor to see who was around.

"Bayley! Give me a hand?" 

 

***

 

By the time Seth got off the phone it had almost been an hour. Turns out the house had a structural issue that was going to be an absolute headache to remedy. And then, after discussing their options Marek had turned the conversation onto the students themselves, which is a subject matter that always allowed them to talk the night away.

Glancing at the time he knew Finn would be long-finished by now, and Seth needed to start getting ready for his own match.

When he entered the locker room he was shocked to find that Finn's stuff was gone. The spot next to his own bags was completely empty, what the fuck.

He got changed, frowning all the while. Did Titus not pass on the message? Did Finn think Seth had ditched? 

He hadn't missed any calls while he was on the phone, hadn't received a text. Seth shook the sweatpants he'd left balled up on the bench, and yep, he still had the keys to the rental. What was going on? 

He unzipped his bag - already composing an apologetic message in his head - when he found a sticky note slapped on the crest of the title belt.

****

**see you at the hotel**  
**xx**

****

**p.s. check insta**

Check instagram? Must be a story, because he hadn't had a post notification. 

Seth opened the app, and oh. _Oh_. Oh fuck. 

He was extremely glad that he was the only one in the locker room at present, because he could feel how red his face had gone, and he was already more than a little hard in his tights.

In the video Finn stood in a nondescript hallway of the venue, smiling directly at the camera as he slathered himself in baby oil. 

Seth gripped the phone in one hand, leaning on his knees with the other across his mouth. His thumb pressed on the left side of the screen over and over and over.

 **Lucky lucky lucky** , he told himself.

The oil highlighted Finn's abs, which honestly shouldn't even be possible with how prominent they were already. Finn's abs gave Seth a fucking complex about his own some days.

His mouth watered, like honest to god watered. He was fairly certain baby oil would taste gross but all he wanted to do was lick it off.

This was it. This was the gift. And what a gift it was.

The look on Finn's face in the video was almost the best thing about it. Seth could read the message that was hidden there. It screamed 'come get me'. And just to prolong the agonising tease, he'd vanished, so Seth couldn't. Not for another couple hours.

How he was supposed to make it through all that time - through a fucking match - with this video looping in his head was beyond him. He almost felt like he should warn Elias, 'no dude, I promise, I really am not just happy to see you'.

He watched it another couple times, chewing on the inside of his cheek, and chucked the phone in his bag, stomping toward the shower. He turned it as far 'cold' as he possibly could. 

 

***

 

Finn hadn't heard a peep from Seth since gorilla, and he figured it was a tease of Seth's own, making him wait. It was working, he'd say that much.

He thanked fuck that they hadn't decided to drive straight on through to Baton Rouge tonight. Finn thought the extra 2 hours of waiting might have killed them both. 

When Finn heard the snick of the door unlock he was sitting naked on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest, stomach flipping in anticipation. He grinned and got to his knees. 

In one fluid motion Seth kicked the door shut, dropped his bags and removed his shirt as he stalked towards the bed, eyes positively burning. 

He was fully naked in the space of 5 seconds and so hard that Finn felt precome smear his leg when Seth pushed him down and climbed on top. 

Before Finn had time to say anything Seth's mouth was on him, licking along his thigh and practically making out with his abdomen. Seth arched his back as he rubbed himself against the sheets and Finn was rendered speechless.

He was hot, too hot, but so fucking needy. He keened as Seth's mouth moved over his torso, bowing up wherever Seth's lips set him on fire. Finally, he licked a trail up the centre of Finn's chest and stopped at his mouth, kissing him so hard Finn feared his lips might bruise.

When they came up for air Finn shoved the bottle of lube at him. "Now now now."

Seth uncapped it immediately. When his finger slid in to the first knuckle without resistance he looked down at Finn in complete reverance. It made Finn so hard that his head span.

"You..."

Finn nodded. He held Seth's eyes with steel intensity while he beared down onto the second knuckle with a shift of his hips. He had been so turned on imagining Seth watching the video - thinking about the way his chest flushed when he was really into it, the way his eyes grew dark with want, the way his dick tastes when he's about to come - that he'd painstakingly prised himself apart, too impatient to wait for Seth to do it himself. 

"Oh my god," Seth said with wide eyes. 

Finn lifted up just enough to tug at Seth's bottom lip with his teeth. "Did you like your present?"

Seth answered by slipping into him with a moan that made Finn's stomach drop out.

He licked a stripe up the side of Seth's neck and felt a sense of pride when it tasted like salt from sweat. He'd been so desperate for Finn that he hadn't showered after his match. He came straight here, straight to him. 

Finn hooked his legs around Seth's waist and joined their hands. It was hard and fast, and neither of them could breathe. There was no finesse, just a frenzy of movement and the slap of skin. 

When Seth came he crumpled Finn up against the headboard in his fervour, crying out. He was too far gone, panting hot breath against Finn's ear, so Finn reached down and jerked himself off desperately, sinking his teeth into Seth's collarbone in his release. 

They were both absolutely fucked out. Seth was breathing so hard that he was making little 'ah' sounds on the exhale and Finn was gasping, mouth desperately dry. 

Finn grimaced when Seth pulled out of him and kissed his ribs in apology. Seth lay his sticky face on Finn's chest, and when he was asleep in under a minute Finn had to suck his lips in not to laugh.

He counted each of Seth's soft breaths and stroked his face gently. Finn was content, and his eyes were half-lidded, yet it wasn't enough to let him slip into slumber. But Seth needed the rest, so he left him awhile. Call this the nap he couldn't have earlier. 

When he thought about 20 minutes had passed Finn said his name.

"Nnngh," was Seth's eloquent response and this time Finn couldn't stop from chuckling. The shake of his chest under Seth's cheek made him groan again. 

"No come on, don't grunt at me, wake up."

"Don't wanna." He hugged an arm around Finn's waist like it was further evidence.

"I gathered that," Finn laughed. "But you're wearing two layers of sweat and it's beginning to smell."

Seth whined a little and then sat up. "Sorry."

"I'm not." Finn kissed him before getting to his feet and offering his hand. "Come on."

Seth perked up the second he realised he wasn't showering alone. "Are you gonna do my hair?"

When Finn smiled Seth clapped, pumped his fist and hopped up. Seth was a sucker for having his hair washed. 

5 minutes later they were both covered in suds and the hot water was soothing each of their aching muscles. Seth sighed when Finn's hands slipped into his hair. Finn rubbed shampoo firmly into the roots, and Seth dropped his head back, eyes closed. 

"So what's going on with the house?" Finn asked.

Seth groaned, and explained while Finn's fingers worked magic on his scalp. Every so often Seth would sort of trail off and Finn would nudge him with his hip to continue. It swelled Finn's chest from satisfied smugness.

"And then we started talking about what we're gonna teach the kids next time I'm home for a couple days."

Finn smiled to himself. There were few things besides his dogs and Game of Thrones that Seth could wax lyrical about for hours, but his school definitely rivalled them for top spot. 

Finn had only stopped by Black and Brave a couple times, but it was always a sight to behold. He doubted that 'patient' was a word that many would use to describe Seth, but most people hadn't seen him teach. Finn loved to watch him, even if it sort of made him miss home. 

It was the only environment in the world in which Seth would plain forget Finn was there, so it explained how he'd had time to finish up and leave the venue before Seth got off the phone. 

Finn framed Seth's forehead with a hand when he dipped his head to rinse, and then ran conditioner through. The water pattered around them, and the floor squeaked a little when Seth took Finn's shoulders and shifted their positions, placing Finn underneath the spray. 

Finn tried to tease him again, rubbing gel over his torso the same way he'd used the baby oil but they both burst out laughing before it could be considered sexy. Finn was still chuckling when Seth kissed him, and pulled back to laugh properly when Seth's hand curled around Finn's dick.

"Already?"

Seth walked him a couple steps so that his back hit the wall and put his lips to Finn's ear. "I didn't make you come."

"Yeah but I still-" He cut himself off with his own moan as Seth curled his wrist just right. 

A couple of times Finn tried to reciprocate but Seth just batted away his hand, so instead Finn thought 'fuck it' and leant back for the ride. He stuck his hips out and clenched his abs so Seth had something good to look at and then just left him to it, letting the water fill his dry mouth and dribble out as the pressure in his stomach slowly built.

He came on a sigh, laying a cheek flat against the wall. Seth stroked him slowly until he got too sensitive, and then carried on a little longer. When it was just about too much Finn gripped his wrist to make him stop and laughed a little breathlessly, gulping hard. 

They stood there under the water together for a couple of minutes while Finn collected himself. When Seth tried to kiss him again Finn pushed him back by the mouth. "Nope, nope, get out. Let me actually take a fucking shower."

Seth grinned, but obliged. As he covered his stomach in a fresh layer of gel he watched Seth roughly run a towel over his head and tried not to roll his eyes. No wonder it was always frizzing. 

He was aware that Seth was still watching him, but Finn was done with showmanship for the evening and just washed as he normally would, lest he risk the idiot getting back in.

"So I've got a question," Seth began as he bent to dry his legs. "How come the entire internet got my present too? I had to put in actual effort to save a copy, you know."

"What a hardship," Finn laughed.

"No, it actually was. I had to download an app, it was a whole thing. It definitely was for me, right?"

"Definitely."

"I mean I'm glad you posted it. The internet is melting and it's actually sort of hilarious. But how come you didn't send it to me?"

Finn turned into the spray slightly so all he could see was the wall. "Well, I didn't want you to feel pressured."

There was a stretch where all Finn could hear was water hitting the tiles in bursts as he ran the smallest amount of shampoo over his head. If he didn't have a Seth-oriented sixth sense he'd have sworn Seth had left the room. As it stood, he simply waited for the silence to break.

"...What?" Seth's voice sounded small. And not just because the shower was running. 

Finn took a deep breath and fixated on the ceiling. There were very few things they'd never discussed out loud, but unfortunately this was one of them. "I didn't want you to feel like you had to reciprocate."

The elephant in the room was stomping its feet and stampeding against the mirror, and Finn felt like he couldn't walk without treading on the glass. 

He summoned every ounce of strength and turned his head back in Seth's direction. Seth's face had paled even as his body was still flushed from the heat. Finn regretted opening his mouth, but it was too late to turn back now. He shut off the water and stepped out. 

"I didn't want you to feel like you had to send me anything back. A...risqué photo or...something."

Seth turned away, and Finn caught the slightest glimpse of his cheeks burning as he did so. The way he wrapped the towel securely round his waist - hiding his modesty while his back was turned - made Finn feel like he was being pulled to the floor by his spine. Fuck, why did his attempts at making Seth feel better often make things so much worse? 

Seth cleared his throat softly before speaking. "Are we seriously talking about this?"

"No. Yes. No." Finn wanted to touch him, but his hand felt like a weight at his side. "I was just answering the question, we don't have to-"

"You think I don't trust you?"

Finn sighed. They really, really didn't have to broach this subject. Like, ever.

When Seth span back around it was with more than a hint of anger. "You seriously think I don't fucking trust you enough to send you nudes?"

Finn squared up against the tone even though all he wanted to do was shrink away. "I didn't want you to have to make that judgement."

"I already made that damn judgement! Nine months ago when we started sleeping together!" 

"Yeah? Well it wouldn't be the first time you got someone wrong."

Why the fuck was Finn trying so hard to make himself sound like the most untrustworthy person on earth? That was the exact opposite of what he wanted Seth to think, but his blood was boiling, even though he knew he was way out of line.

Seth leant in slightly and spat the words out. "Fuck you."

Finn scraped his hands over his face when Seth left the bathroom. He glanced down at himself and rolled his eyes. Why did he have to be naked while they argued?

He grabbed a towel from the rack and slowly began to dry himself off. He wanted to run back into the bedroom and beg for forgiveness, but they would both benefit if Seth had five minutes to himself. 

When he finally entered the room Seth was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at him with the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. Immediately Finn crossed to him and knelt, hands on Seth's knees. 

To Finn's relief, Seth cupped his cheeks. He sighed into the touch. 

"Seth, I didn't mean that."

Seth smiled sadly. "Yeah you did."

"Well...yeah." Cool eyes met warm eyes. "But I would never do that. I would never."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Finn. I know." Seth dropped his forehead onto Finn's crown. "Even if I hurt you. Even if I royally fucked up. I know you'd just delete them and move on."

Finn was willing to bet against the latter. Probably also the former.

Finn had spent a little time around Seth back then, when the whole thing blew up. Seth was always popping up at Takeovers or the Performance Centre, and though they weren't tight yet their long-standing mutual respect acted like gravity, pulling them into each other's orbit without active intent.

Seth's friends, including Finn, had tried not to talk about it whilst still somehow showing support. It was mortifying enough to happen to anyone in their profession, always in the public eye. But to happen when he held the briefcase, questing to spearhead the company, and working himself to the bone to try and be everything everyone needed him to be? It had visibly crushed him for a time. 

Seth had fucked up, that was undeniable. He'd been selfish and dishonest and stupid. But he hadn't deserved to have his private business blown up for the whole world to see. It would always be out there, always haunting him. And Finn stood by what he said earlier. Seth had grown up so much since then that it seemed immeasurably cruel that he would forever be judged by the actions of a younger self who could barely be recognised as congruent. 

"I'm sorry." Finn blinked up at him, surprised that Seth had been the one to apologise. "I know you had good intentions."

"I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable."

Seth pulled Finn's face toward him as he gave him a kiss. "I could never feel uncomfortable with you."

Finn grinned, hoping to finally lighten the tone. "So you're telling me this whole time I could have had my boyfriend's nudes to keep me entertained on long haul flights?"

Seth's hands stiffened on Finn's cheeks before falling away and fuck, he had to try so hard not to laugh.

To his credit Seth had kept his colour, but his mouth opened and closed like that of a goldfish for a couple seconds. "Are we...using that word?"

Finn kept a straight face as he stood up and crossed the room for a hairbrush. "Is there one you'd prefer? Lover sounds a bit weird. Partner? S.O.?"

Seth grumbled as Finn set to work on his hair, parting it and brushing through. "You know what I mean, Finn..."

Finn finished what he was doing before he answered. He set aside the brush before peeling the wet hairband from Seth's wrist and moving behind him to plait his hair into a tail.

"Is there something about us that suggested we weren't exclusive?" Finn smirked, already anticipating Seth's outburst. "Have you been sleeping with other people?"

He span, yanking his hair from Finn's hands in the process. "No! How could you ask me that?"

Finn grinned. "Because I was joking." He tugged on Seth's half finished plait to turn him back around.

"...Oh."

"Not my best material, I'll admit." Finn finished, securing the tail with the band and brushing it over Seth's shoulder. His voice softened as his tone grew serious. "I would never suspect that of you. Ever. I trust you with my whole heart."

He bent and pressed a lingering kiss to the final character adorning Seth's back. He heard Seth's breath catch - an indicator that he knew exactly which word Finn's lips were gracing - and squeezed his hand when Seth reached back for him. 

They sat like that awhile, Finn pressed to Seth's back with their hands joined atop Seth's thigh. Finn kept his mouth pressed tight to Seth's shoulderblade until he was sure he could trust himself not to say something that neither of them were ready for.

"You know what I really want?" he said finally.

"Hmm?"

"Some fries."

Seth lifted Finn's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it before getting to his feet, dropping the towel and retrieving his clothes from where they were strewn across the floor. "I'll go get some," he said a little too excitedly to be subtle. 

It was a little cruel to exploit Seth's effervescent penchant for feeding him on the rare occasion that Finn fancied a snack. The effect was doubled when the snack in question was particularly carby or fatty, but they were both used to it by now. The dynamic worked, why screw with it? 

Finn smiled to himself and crawled into bed while Seth scooped up his wallet. "Don't be long."

Seth's bright grin flashed as he closed the door behind him. 

 

***

 

Even Seth could admit that he'd gone overboard. Extra large coke zeros, a gigantic burger and enough fries to feed three was probably too much when 'a few fries' would have sufficed. But Finn had taken two good sized bites of the cheeseburger so he was calling it a win.

When he was done Finn laid back - blessedly still naked - and patted his stomach as if it wasn't washboard perfection, cheeks puffed out like a hamster. But he looked happy full, rather than guilty full so Seth took another gulp of coke and then stripped down to his boxer shorts. 

When he climbed into bed Finn pulled Seth tight against his side and kissed his temple. "I'm gonna stay up awhile, you good?"

"I might hit the hay, actually. I'm beat."

Finn kissed his temple again and let him go so he could roll over. Seth listened to Finn fish for some headphones and then he turned the light out, immediately dimming the backlight on his phone. Seth smiled into the darkness.

He fell asleep quite quickly, but he had one of his bad crossfit dreams. 

As much as he loved it when he was conscious, general crossfit dreams stressed him out, because dream!Seth never seemed to get enough reps. But those he could cope with; they were more irritating than anything. 

What really tipped him over the edge was dreams like this one; endless box jumps with one leg still locked into a knee brace. Slow-motion mobility. Pain that radiated as far as his ribs. A piercing stab in his brain that screamed 'you'll never be what you were'.

When he woke up he immediately reached a hand down to his right knee. No brace, no discomfort. _**Obviously, you idiot. It's been like a year and a half**_. He sighed, a bit pissy that a dream could make him so paranoid. 

When he looked to his left Finn was blinking at him in the darkness. He slept so lightly. He might have slept through if Seth hadn't been compelled to touch his damn knee.

"Sorry," he whispered.

Sometimes Finn would nod and close his eyes again, but tonight he reached out his arm, so Seth settled his head on Finn's chest. "Bad one?"

"Not the worst. What about you?"

"Mm. Not a lot happened."

"Oh yeah?"

Finn started to play with the end of Seth's damp braid. "We were just walking around backstage. Think it was a pay per view? But we were...out. Holding hands in catering, stuff like that."

"Oh."

That had been Seth's reply too many times over the past 24 hours. But he was mollified when Finn cleared his throat awkwardly, not fully comfortable either. 

"So." Finn said it in an overly light tone, eager to switch subjects. "No ideas on my gift yet?" 

"I'm working on it," Seth huffed. "I've got the whole month, right?"

Finn chuckled. "That you do."

Seth ran his fingers over Finn's stomach, mind racing. Finn's attempt to change the subject had somehow led Seth down an even rockier track. 

They lay in silence for a few minutes, and Seth desperately hoped that Finn's breathing pattern would change; that he'd fall back to sleep and give Seth another reason to shut the fuck up. Besides the obvious, which was - as per usual - it was a terrible idea to open his mouth.

But as Seth knew he would, Finn simply lay there playing with Seth's hair, or skimming his fingertips along Seth's ribs. 

"Finn, do we..." The question died in his throat. When Finn ran a finger under Seth's chin in invitation, he scuttled even further down Finn's chest instead of moving to meet his eyes. "Do we... _get_ to celebrate pride?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... We're not like your dream. We're not out. We're like, firmly in, and it just. Doesn't feel very proud."

There was a beat of quiet before Finn touched a finger to Seth's chin again. "Sweetheart, come here."

Reluctantly Seth moved so that they were lying on their sides facing each other. He could just about make out Finn's face, the shine in his eyes. He was grateful that neither of them were making moves for the light switch. 

"Are you not proud to be with me?"

"That's not-!"

"Then what?"

Seth surveyed Finn's expression for a second and then took a deep breath. 

He was so lucky that Finn was endlessly patient with him. Some people would have given that two word retort with attitude, but with Finn it was a genuine question. A gentle question.

"Of course," he cupped Finn's face. "Of _course_ I'm proud of you, of us. But. I mean. You're the only guy, ever, in my whole life. Do I get to put myself under that umbrella on the basis of what could just be an exception to the rule?" He dropped his hands. "Is that rude? Is that bad to say?"

Finn laughed and loosely took Seth's hand. "That's not bad to say. I'm more than happy to be your exception, if that's what I am."

"How do I know?"

Finn pursed his lips in thought. "I don't know. Maybe you won't. Or maybe that will come in time. If I'm the only guy ever, then this has only been a question for you for less than a year. It's a big question, maybe it'll take years to answer."

"How long did it take you?"

Finn paused for a second. "I don't know if I ever asked."

"So what, always?"

Finn chuckled lightly. "I know this is hard for you, but it doesn't have to be black and white. Some people don't need to ask the question, or don't care about the answer. Others like to have a label, use it to take ownership of themselves. Both are fine, both are good."

Seth started to chew on the thumb that Finn wasn't holding. "I don't feel...I don't know...qualified. To call myself something else."

"Okay. So let me ask you this." Finn was speaking in such a manner that Seth never felt stupid, or belittled for his lack of LGBT know-how. He was beyond grateful for it. "Say that I _am_ your exception. Say you never like another non-woman for the rest of your life. Do you think that 99% women, and 1%...me." Seth barked out a laugh. "Do you think that - to use your word - qualifies you as straight?"

Seth screwed his nose up. "Well. When you put it like that....no, I guess not. I'm...not straight, I guess." He blew out a breath. "God, why was that so hard to say even though we've apparently been in a relationship for 9 months?"

Finn laughed and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Because you never have, I suppose." Finn pushed down on the hand that Seth was still intermittently gnawing on. "You don't need to hit some sort of quota to call yourself something other than hetero. And the split doesn't have to be equal."

"God, I feel so fucking clueless. This was so much easier when I didn't have to think about it." He threw an arm out as he said it and Finn snorted. "Part of me has been freaking out ever since you sent me that text this morning. I didn't know that pride was something that...included me." 

"Us," Finn firmly corrected him. "Seth, we don't have to be out to celebrate pride. We can celebrate it inwardly, or privately. It's about having pride in yourself and who you are, not about how many people know."

"Do you wanna be, though?" He squeezed Finn's hand. "Out?"

"No."

Seth was surprised with the speed at which Finn answered. Seth was prepping himself to agree to tell everyone if it would make Finn happy, but here he was saying outright that he didn't want that. 

"I thought maybe you were waiting for me."

"No, it's not that. _I'm_ not ready. And we would both have to be."

Seth stroked his thumb over Finn's knuckle. "That surprises me."

"Don't think that it's shame, or fear," Finn assured him. He shook his head. "I've been subverting expectations for years, and I don't give a fuck what the brass would think. It would just be one more thing they can talk about behind my back." For the first time Finn looked away. "In the past I've...shown too much of myself. Given out parts of me that I really should have kept close."

Seth didn't have to ask to know they were talking about the Prince. Even through the darkness he could see Finn's eyes had clouded over. They startled clear when Seth hooked a leg over his hip.

Finn took a second to blink before patting the leg; a thank you for pulling him out before he got too deep.

Finn continued. "I think that's why I don't feel the need to tell everyone. It's not about hiding it, it's just about keeping it for myself. Does that make sense?"

Seth smiled and nodded. 

Hiding was weird, but they'd both adhered to it from day one without discussion. It's not like if they were open with everyone that they'd be making out in gorilla, because above all else they were professional and loyal to the job. But sometimes hanging out with colleagues outside of work was hard. Seth had held himself back from being overly touchy in many a social situation. 

But Seth agreed. He was more than happy keeping their relationship ( _relationship_ , what the fuck) to himself, where prying eyes couldn't touch them. 

Finn drew Seth's knuckles to his mouth using both of his hands. "Don't get me wrong, I feel bad sometimes. Like I'm preaching about people being true to themselves all over social media but not practising it in my own life. And I feel bad about Sonya."

Seth pushed past the lump the name conjured in his throat. "That she's out by herself. And we could be shouldering some of the pressure."

Finn nodded sadly and kissed Seth's hand again. "But I want to be ready. Want us both to be ready." In a split second his tone changed, left hand snaking slowly up Seth's thigh and slipping under the hem of his boxer shorts. "I just find it really hard to share you."

When Finn's fingers ventured far enough that they brushed his dick Seth bucked against his hip. "You'll never have to. I'm yours."

Finn's grin was dirty as he dove in for a kiss. "I like the sound of that."

 

** June 2nd 2018 **

 

Finn laughed as he plonked a cup of coffee in front of Seth, who was sitting with Elias in catering, hands over his face, intermittent groans seeping between his fingers.

Elias looked up at Finn with the most baffled expression. "What the hell's wrong with him?"

Finn sat down. He was already changed for his match and the plastic chair was cold on his thighs. He took a banana from the plate he set down and pushed the sandwich left on it in Seth's direction. "He's fine, just tired."

Another wailing groan came from Seth's direction and Elias leant back a little. "Well if he falls asleep during the pin and doesn't kick out I'm not explaining to the brass why he lost his belt at a house show."

That roused a mumble from behind Seth's palms. 

"Speak up, Rollins," Finn chided.

Seth dropped both arms to the table with a thud, glaring a little at Finn before looking to Elias. "I'll be fine. Can't promise I won't fall asleep during your song tonight, though." 

Elias grinned. "That's cool. Might get a chance to finish it for once." He picked up his plate and clapped Seth on the shoulder a little harder than necessary. "Catch you later."

When he finished rolling said shoulder and looked back up he found that Finn was grinning at him from around the banana. Seth hated that he could feel his eyes light up with interest despite himself.

"God, will you quit it?"

Finn almost choked on it from laughing, which made Seth crack a grin. He sipped on the coffee and then started to pull the crust off the sandwich.

"Look, don't blame me," Finn said lowly. "You were more than happy to stay up."

Seth narrowed his eyes. "You're a bad influence."

"Just because I'm older doesn't automatically make you the influencee."

Seth finished chewing and pretended to kick Finn under the table. He cast a quick glance around them. "I can still see that bite mark, by the way," Seth said, running a finger over his collarbone through his shirt. He tilted his head sarcastically. "Good job."

"Ahh, no one else will," Finn grinned. "Just looks like a bruise."

Seth shook his head. He couldn't quite conceal his smile. 

While Seth downed his coffee and slowly ate Finn scrolled through both his mentions and indirects following the instagram story. He read a few of them out, giggling away as he did so.

Seth had read a few himself while Finn had been in the bathroom that morning, and the amount of times he'd read something that alluded to Finn posting it as a pride month gift had made him laugh. The Bálor club didn't know how right they were. 

Seth rolled his eyes. "You're gonna do it again, aren't you?" Secretly he was pumped. 

Finn simply grinned. He knew Seth was pumped. 

Seth slung Finn's jacket over his shoulder as they rose, and made their way to gorilla together once Seth had returned the flatware. 

They were a little early but Finn's eyes lit up the second he saw the bottle of oil sitting on the table. Before Seth could say a word Finn had scooped it up, unlocked his phone and filmed himself wiggling his eyebrows next to the bottle.

"We're stealing this!" Finn called to anyone who could possibly be listening and snagged Seth's shirt to tug him out of the room.

Seth laughed as Finn dragged him down the corridor, and only stopped when Finn kissed him quick and hard. Their eyes were wide when their lips parted, both shocked that Finn had been so bold even though there was no one around.

"You're gonna be the death of me," Seth breathed.

"Not until July."

Seth chuckled. "Yeah okay. Not until you get your present."

"But then it'll be my birthday."

"I promise not to die until August at the very earliest."

With that, Finn held the bottle of oil between his thighs so that he could strip off his shirt. That he knew Seth's eyes would be drawn there was definitely 100% unintentional. He threw the shirt at Seth, who caught it with one hand. 

Seth took Finn's phone from his outstretched hand and unlocked it again, keying in his own birthday. Finn set the oil on a nearby table and Seth crouched in front of it. He nodded. 

Seth watched through the phone as Finn picked up the bottle and sized it up with a grin, before shaking his head at the camera and setting it back down. 

The second he stopped filming Seth laughed. "Fucking tease." 

He was expecting to film another episode of 'Finn slathers oil over his objectively incredible body' just as much as instagram was expecting to see it. Looks like they were both going to be disappointed today. 

"It's my M.O.," Finn smirked. 

Seth sighed and handed Finn the phone so that he could post it. When he was done Finn handed it back and Seth slid it into his back pocket and handed Finn his jacket, who shrugged it on.

Finn stretched out his arms the same way he would on the other side of the curtain. The sultry look in his eyes was slightly different though, given the intended audience. "How do I look?"

Seth threw the tshirt back in Finn's face, who laughed out a muffled "Hey!"

"You know exactly how you look. Cut it out."

"Tell me."

Finn listened to Seth let out the lightest sigh he'd ever heard. "Like everything I never knew I wanted."

A look passed between them, one that consolidated the statement with everything they'd discussed in the middle of the night. 

Yet again Finn wished they could just up and leave before the event had even begun. Instead, he smiled softly. 

"See you in the locker room?"

"Yeah," Seth smiled, cheeks a little pink from blushing. "Warm them up for me."

Finn rolled his eyes and turned tail, heading back to gorilla for his match with Jinder. Seth watched him go with a fond smile before getting out his own phone to watch the instagram story. And maybe the first one again. 

He was about to make his way back to catering for another coffee if he had any hope in hell of surviving the rest of the event when he noticed Finn had left the bottle of oil behind.

For a split second Seth's feet made moves to follow after him before his brain sparked, evil smirk spreading over his face. Seth tossed the bottle from one hand to the other.

Finn wanted a present? Maybe he should just fight fire with fire.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally intended to be posted during pride month, but wrath month will have to do.


End file.
